No matter how old you are, losing your job never gets easier. Not only is it often a sad and stressful time, but it is often made worse by the fact that you don’t know where your next paycheck will be coming from.
Knowing how to cope when something like this happens is extremely important, especially if you have other people that you need to support.
1.Create a budget –
If you can create a budget and stick by it with the remaining savings that you have, then your money will last a little bit longer while you sort out your financial situation.
Being able to calculate how much you will spend on basic living expenses will help you to determine how much your base for your budget will be each week.
This technique can also help you to find some extra cash from the expenses that you may no longer need or can no longer afford.
If you determine what you need and what is an added expense early on, then you will last a lot longer than you would have without a budget.
There are plenty of websites that specifically help you create a budget after you have lost your job to help you get back on your feet.
2.Make sure you have an emergency fund –
Having a safety net to lean on in times of crisis is important for you to make sure you land on your feet.
Some of this money may come from your super fund if you are of a certain age, or it may just be some money that you’ve saved over the years.
Either way, it is a good idea to have a financial safety net of some sort at all times, because you never know what it is around the corner, and you may need a little bit of cash to help you get by.
There are lots of apps that can help you track your savings and spending from your phone with ease, so you can always be on top of your finances no matter what.
3.Get on top of your debts –
If you have a few debts looming over you, and you still have some money available to pay them off, it is a good idea to start paying them off while you can.
If you’ve lost your job and you don’t know when you will find a new one, you’ll be struggling with money as it is, but if you can get on top of your debts before you have any serious money problems, it will work out better for you later on.
It will also make getting back on your feet that much easier, because you will be able to start fresh, without the stress of having to pay for any unnecessary extras.
4.Identify short-term and long-term goals –
If you can stop and re-evaluate your short and long-term goals in regard to where you want to be in your life, and where you want to be financially, then you can figure out how to get there a lot easier than you would have.
For example, your long-term goal may be to be financially stable again, but your short-term goals may be to get a new job or start a budget.
If you can identify the steps you need to take in order to get to where you want to be, then you’ll feel more positive about getting there in the future.
5.Start applying for jobs –
It seems like a very obvious one, but if you are still able to work, then you need to start applying for new jobs immediately.
There are plenty of places to find jobs these days online and in person, especially if you already have contacts in your field. The sooner you start applying for jobs, the sooner you will find a new one.
You may get some rejections along the way but putting yourself out there and starting again is the best thing that you can do for yourself at this point.
Even if that means re-evaluating your career choice and starting something new, so be it. They say a change is as good as a rest, so starting a new job can be just what you need to stop you from being so stressed financially.
6.Rent out your space –
If you have space in your house or garage that you aren’t currently using, you can rent it out to someone who need storage.
Using a site like Spacer, you can find people who need more space to store their belongings, old furniture, files or even their car if you have a free parking spot or garage you can rent.
This is a great way to make some extra money by using something you already have. This can be a particularly lucrative option if you live in a busy city and parking is hard to come by as you provide a long-term solution to someone struggling to find a park near their home or work.
7.Take care of your mental health –
Although finances are important, and you won’t get very far without any money, in times of crisis, you need to stop reassess and re-evaluate.
If your mental health is not good while you are going through this period, you will keep feeling bad, and your financial situation will never get solved.
Yes, money is important, but you can always earn more money. Your mental health is more important than your finances.
Although losing your job is never ideal, if you know how to prepare yourself both mentally and financially in case something bad happens, you’ll be able to get back on your feet in no time.
Having strategies in place to protect yourself from the inevitable stress that comes with unemployment is extremely important.
However, have to remember that in times of trouble that you have to keep going, and that things will not be bad forever if you know how to fix them.
Author is a part of the team supporting Spacer .
